ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001010 STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM NSC FOR NEA STAFF SECDEF WASHDC FOR USDP/ASD-PA/ASD-ISA HQ USAF FOR XOXX DA WASHDC FOR SASA JOINT STAFF WASHDC FOR PA CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL FOR POLAD/USIA ADVISOR COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019 JERUSALEM ALSO ICD LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL PARIS ALSO FOR POL ROME FOR MFO SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION Please note: no Tel Aviv Media Reaction report on Thursday, May 8, 2008, Israel's Independence Day holiday. -------------- SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: -------------- ¶1. Israel's 60th Independence Day ¶2. Mideast -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- All media, except the ultra-Orthodox papers, prominently and extensively covered, and commented on, events related to Israel's Memorial Day and 60th Independence Day. Leading media quoted President Shimon Peres as saying last night at the official Memorial Day ceremony near the Western Wall: "We are ready to pay a price for the day of peace. "We are ready to pay in exchange for the day of peace, in exchange for a smile of children, Palestinian children, Jordanian, Egyptian, and Syrian, too. We want to shake hands, but our enemies know that we are capable of pressing the trigger." Peres was quoted as saying in an interview with Ha'aretz this week that he did not imagine that Israel would leave Gaza and that the Palestinians would fire Qassam rockets from there, and that Hamas would show so strongly in the elections. Peres was also quoted as saying that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hamas are taking him back to the "Jew within himself." The media reported that a foreign national who is the central witness in the new investigation against PM Ehud Olmert will give testimony in the case. "This does not indicate that an indictment will be issued against the respondents, PM Ehud Olmert and Shula Zaken," the judges wrote. The Jerusalem District Court allowed this detail to be published, however, did not lift the gag order even though The New York Post published details of the investigation, including the name of the foreign national -- Morris Talansky. Media have highlighted this report in their stories as breaking new details while saying that they face legal action if they repeat those details. Just about the only thing lacking in helping readers access the NY Post article is a hyperlink. Israel Radio cited a denial by Olmert's bureau of an Aljazeera-TV report that Olmert will suspend himself after the Independence Day holiday. Ha'aretz reported that a senior Palestinian official told the newspaper yesterday that the investigation into Olmert means that Palestinians do not have a peace partner. The official was quoted as saying that the PA realizes the allegations currently being investigated are more serious than previous probes. "Our trouble is that we don't have a partner in Washington either," the official said about the American position on Israeli-Palestinian talks. In another development, Ha'aretz reported that Nabil Abu Rudeineh, PA President Mahmoud Abbas's spokesman, has released a statement saying that although Monday's meeting between Olmert and Abbas included an in-depth discussion on borders, there remain extensive gaps between the two sides. Abu Rudeineh was quoted as saying that Abbas told Olmert that any final-status agreement must include the handover of the entire West Bank to the Palestinians. He was also quoted as saying that Abbas would have to take drastic measures if no peace deal was reached. Maariv quoted a high-ranking source in Abbas's bureau as saying that if a new government is formed, it would be necessary to see what its composition is before it is possible to see how the negotiations are affected. "If you hold new elections, that's already another thing," said the source. "In such a situation, there is no question that negotiations will be postponed." Maariv reported that another high-ranking Palestinian source also related to the possibility that Olmert would not remain in his position. "We only hope that the next prime minister, if Olmert falls, will honor all the commitments made so far," he was quoted as saying. "Israel has always said there is partner on the Palestinian side, but now we are discovered that the Israeli partner is the weak one." Maariv also cited the concern of the security establishment about the investigation's effect on PM Olmert. It was quoted as saying that political instability in wake of Ehud OlmertQs investigation is liable to have security ramifications -- particularly because after the holiday, the political echelon is supposed to decide whether to accept EgyptQs proposal to declare a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that FM Tzipi Livni, who the newspaper says is veering to the right, is "bracing to inherit Olmert." The paper quoted Livni associates as saying that red lines have been crossed in the talks with Abbas. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe cited the anger of Livni's entourage, which is quoted as saying that she does not support Olmert. The Jerusalem Post reported that yesterday Kadima members criticized Olmert and called for his resignation. The newspaper said that they see Livni, Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter, and Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz as possible successors. The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel believes that Iran will master centrifuge technology and be able to begin enriching uranium on a military scale this year. The new assessment moves up Israel's forecasts on Tehran's nuclear program by almost a full year -- from 2009 to the end of 2008. According to the new timeline, Iran could have a nuclear weapon by the middle of next year. The newspaper quoted a senior defense official as saying yesterday that Iran had encountered numerous technical obstacles on its way to enriching uranium but was now on track to master the technology within six months. The Jerusalem Post also reported that Israel is concerned that Tehran is developing a cruise missile that could evade interception by the Arrow, the IDF's anti-ballistic missile defense system. Israel Radio reported that the IAF carried out two raids in Gaza this morning. Electronic media quoted Palestinian sources as saying that at least 11 Palestinians, most of them gunmen, were injured in the operation. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe quoted Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai as saying that Israel will hand over the Sdema army base near Bethlehem to the PA. Ha'aretz reported that Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann has proposed an amendment to the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Freedom that would exempt laws relating to immigration and citizenship from judicial review. The amendment would presumably make it even harder for Palestinians married to Israelis to obtain citizenship. However, Ha'aretz reported that the amendment seems unlikely to pass. After receiving a draft of the proposal a few days ago, Labor Party Chairman Ehud Barak and two senior party members, Shalom Simhon and Ophir Pines-Paz, decided to recommend that their party oppose the bill. Under the coalition agreement, no Basic Law can be amended without the consent of all coalition partners, so Labor's opposition would kill the proposal. Earlier, Friedmann had proposed legislation to bar the court from intervening in security and budgetary issues, but Labor's opposition forced him to drop this idea as well. Major media reported that the Foreign Ministry is sending $100,000 in initial emergency food and medical supplies to survivors of the deadly cyclone that battered Myanmar over the weekend. The aid is being sent in coordination with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Maariv published the results of a TNS/Teleseker poll conducted on the occasion of Independence Day: Q: Will there soon be an agreement with the Palestinians? I don't believe so: 42.8%; I am sure there won't be one: 30.2%; I believe so: 17.9% Q: Which Israeli achievement are you most proud of? The high-tech [industry]: 63.1%; the IDF and its operations: 60.1%; the War of Independence and the establishment of the State of Israel: 52%. Q: What event influenced Israel most? The Six-Day War: 60.5%; the Yom Kippur War: 47.9%; the Rabin assassination: 46%. Q: Who was Israel's best prime minister? Menachem Begin: 31.4%; David Ben Gurion: 28.6%; Yitzhak Rabin: 17.5% Q: Who was the IDF's best chief of staff? Moshe Dayan: 20.3%; Rafael Eitan [the commander of the First Lebanon War]; Yitzhak Rabin: 16.8%. Q: What is the most Israeli attribute? Cheekiness: 62.2%; The "trust me" and "it'll be OK" culture: 58.9%; impatience: 50.7%. -------------- ¶1. Israel's 60th Independence Day: -------------- Summary: -------------- The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "[Positive diplomatic developments] arouse the hope that the State of Israel is stronger than its ills." The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "Sixty years after the Palestinian Arabs first rejected a two-state solution, they appear little closer to accepting a compromise that most Israelis could live with." Liberal columnist Ofer Shelach wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv: "When you are defending yourself against a Holocaust, there is no limit to the degree of force, and it has no purpose except that of survival." Liberal-turned-conservative author Eyal Megged wrote in Maariv: "Among wide, influential, leading circles in Israel, the word 'homeland' has become a dirty word, an untouchable concept. How can one love an occupying country?" Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Israel Is Stronger than its Ills" The independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (5/7): "The present Independence Day will be celebrated by the citizens of Israel as it is every year, ignoring the investigations of corruption, because basic pride at the success of the Zionist enterprise still beats in their hearts.... A government that is being dismantled cannot be expected to bring peace, but apparently the historical processes that are taking place in the region and in the world are stronger even than it. The isolation of Hamas, which still wants to destroy Israel, the worldwide enlistment against the Iranian nuclear program, the peace talks with the moderate wing of the Palestinian people -- which wants to establish an independent state alongside Israel and to live with it in cooperation in the same conflict-ridden parcel of land -- the peace signals from Syria, which have met with a positive response on the Israeli side, and also a new U.S. administration, which may provide momentum for peace with Syria that the current administration refuses to provide -- all these arouse the hope that the State of Israel is stronger than its ills.... The aspirations of most Israelis for peace today have genuine partners in the Arab world, whose stance is no longer dependent only on the composition of some government or other in Israel. If the gauntlet is picked up on both sides, perhaps we will finally see that same new Middle East that the president of the state [Simon Peres] has praised so highly." II. "The Next 60 Years" The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (5/7): "Sixty years on, Israel is a regional power, yet still not at peace with all its Arab neighbors. The fight against terrorism demands unrelenting vigilance. Sderot and other southern communities are under intermittent bombardment from the Gaza Strip. Hizbullah beats the drums of war, while Bashar Assad's intentions remain enigmatic. The greatest strategic threat comes from the fanatical Iranian regime, which threatens to wipe Israel off the map even as it dementedly denies the Holocaust. The Palestinians mark our achievement of sovereignty as their Nakba, or catastrophe. Mahmoud Abbas has yet to prepare his people for reconciliation. Sixty years after the Palestinian Arabs first rejected a two-state solution, they appear little closer to accepting a compromise that most Israelis could live with. As Israeli officials speak of 'considerable progress' in the post-Annapolis negotiations involving, perhaps, the uprooting of 60,000 Jews from Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank] and exit from parts of east Jerusalem, the Palestinians adhere to their demand for an Israeli pullback to the narrow boundaries of the 1949 Armistice Lines. They have not abandoned their demand for a 'right of return,' which would spell the demise of the Jewish state. That the Jewish people have sovereignty and the chance to enjoy a civilizational renascence in this land after a millennium in exile is -- quite literally -- a miracle. May God shine His countenance upon us and navigate us safely through the next 60 years, and beyond." III. "To Be Normal" Liberal columnist Ofer Shelach wrote in the popular, pluralist Maariv (5/7): "Anyone who sees himself as constantly on the defensive against a Holocaust, whose politicians, when they ask for his vote, instead of promising him hope and change, purport to be defending him against destruction, will recognize no limits, because when you are defending yourself against a Holocaust, there is no limit to the degree of force, and it has no purpose except that of survival. Such a state perceives a local kidnapping by a small terrorist organization as an existential threat, and does not accept the limits of the purpose of its reprisal action.... In such a state the citizen does not get up in the morning and ask himself one simple question: what benefit do I derive from this umbrella organization called the state, which I established together with my fellow-citizens to make a better life for ourselves?.... Instead of that there is collective addiction to a 'feeling of security,' to expressionless generals who radiate 'military experience,' to the pointless sacrifice of every civilian objective for the sake of 'security,' to the distorted values of the man at war, which in Israel are still regarded as expression of all that is exalted and beautiful in us." IV. "It Is Allowed to Love" Liberal-turned-conservative author Eyal Megged wrote in Maariv (5/7): "It is allowed to love the land without loving Olmert. One may long for the land without longing for Netanyahu or Barak, or even Ben Gurion.... Is it conceivable that the amount of love a Russian has for Russia depends on his degree of affection for Stalin, Gorbachev, or Putin? Is it conceivable that the Russian will lose one gram of his connection to his homeland because of what it did in Afghanistan or Chechnya? But among wide, influential, leading circles in Israel, the word 'homeland' has become a dirty word, an untouchable concept. How can one love an occupying country? Loving Israel has become an ignominy.... As Israel turns 60, we can already relate to a condition in which we manage with our isolated homeland as one does with fate, and love it like the love of our life." -------------- ¶2. Mideast: -------------- Summary: -------------- Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote on his Internet site Gplanet: "Israel would have to be completely insane to accept [Hamas's] offer, which is meant to cast blame on it for the failure [of the truce], since this means a festival of terror [inside Israel]." Block Quotes: -------------- "The Paradox of Courage" Middle East affairs commentator Dr. Guy Bechor, a lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote on his Internet site Gplanet (5/6): "Closing the border with Gaza was a brilliant step and I assume that many have already begun to realize this, since enormous pressure has begun to be put on Egypt, which also has a border with Gaza, and less and less on Israel.... The Egyptians are trying to effect a 'tahdiya,' a truce between Israel and Hamas, and have already reached agreement with all the Palestinian factions.... The agreement states: Israel will stop all its military activity in Gaza, and in tandem, the factions will stop firing Qassam rockets at Israel. In six months this will also apply to Judea and Samaria [the West Bank], i.e., Israel must promise Egypt and the Americans that it will stop military activity in Judea and Samaria, and the factions are to stop their terror attacks from there. Not a word, of course, about Gilad Shalit, whom Hamas does not want to give up. Israel would have to be completely insane to accept this offer, which is meant to cast blame on it for the failure [of the truce], since this means a festival of terror in Kfar Saba, in Jerusalem, in Petah Tikva and in central Israel, especially since after eight years, the separation fence is still not finished. This means that the Palestinians will have a completely quiet home front in Judea and Samaria to develop their missile infrastructure there, too -- just as happened in Gaza, until the next round, when they will be much better prepared. And the main point: high-ranking Palestinian sources say that Egypt promised the Palestinian factions that if Israel turned down the truce offer, or broke it, Egypt promises to open the Rafah crossing unilaterally to Palestinian traffic, and in effect, link Gaza to Egypt and to the Arab world.... Both Israel and Egypt are now sticking their fingers in the dam known as Gaza, which nobody wants. The first to take his finger out -- the deluge will sweep over them, and I wish to remind us again of the 'bicycle strategy' that Khomeini espoused, and with which he succeeded in Iran: conducting a battle like this is like riding a bicycle. If you stop, you fall." JONES